When you’re shopping for pet care software, the technical stuff might not be top of mind, especially if you’re not super tech-savvy. But trust me, the platform your software runs on can make or break how well it works for your business. From hosting and mobile capabilities to how often updates are rolled out, these factors play a big role in keeping things running smoothly. In this article, we’ll break down the important technical aspects—like hosting, mobile optimization, and data management—that can really impact your day-to-day operations.
Hosting
If uptime is critical to your business (and it absolutely should be), you’ll want to ensure that the software you're considering is hosted on a rock-solid, reliable platform. This is especially important in pet care, where any downtime can lead to missed bookings, frustrated customers, and potential revenue loss. A reliable hosting platform ensures your software stays online, your data remains secure, and backups are in place should something go wrong.
These platforms are global giants, known for their reliability, scalability, and comprehensive security features. They offer advanced backup systems, ensuring your data is always safe and accessible. If one of these services experiences an outage, you can rest assured the issue is significant enough to affect many major services worldwide, not just your business.
That said, not all hosting options are created equal. Here are a few red flags to watch for when evaluating software providers:
Self-Hosted Solutions
This often means you or the software provider is responsible for managing the server. If there’s an issue, you’re stuck handling the technical details, which adds unnecessary stress and complexity.
Private Servers
While they may seem secure, private servers often lack the reliability, scalability, and 24/7 monitoring of cloud services. Plus, they may not offer the same level of redundancy in case of hardware failure.
Downloadable or On-Premise Software
This is an even bigger red flag. Downloadable software that isn’t cloud-based may not receive regular updates or security patches, leaving you vulnerable to bugs and potential cyberattacks. It also lacks the convenience of real-time updates and improvements that cloud-based platforms offer automatically.
In short, steer clear of any software that isn’t hosted in the cloud with one of the major providers mentioned above. Regular updates, improvements, and robust security should be non-negotiable in your decision-making process. Downtime can be costly, so the platform your software runs on plays a major role in keeping your business running smoothly.
Mobile Capabilities
Mobile capabilities can be a major selling point, with some platforms offering dedicated mobile apps for your business. While it might be tempting to have a mobile app, or even a white-labeled app with your logo, it’s important to distinguish between having a mobile app and having a mobile-optimized experience.
In many cases, a mobile app can actually hinder customer relationships because apps need to be installed, maintained, and don’t necessarily offer a better experience than a mobile-optimized website. For instance, some software providers with mobile apps have poor ratings—one very popular one currently has 2.2 stars on Apple and 1.6 stars on Google. If the app is simply emulating the functionality of a web browser, then you aren’t impressing anyone with your mobile app. In fact, the mobile experience could be having a negative impact on your brand.
Whether or not your software provider offers a mobile app, it’s critical that the platform is optimized for mobile use. This ensures that both staff and customers can access key features seamlessly on smartphones and tablets - particularly for communication and self-service tasks.
Feature Roadmap
A harsh reality of B2B software is that once a platform has released enough features, there may be little incentive to continue adding new ones or even fixing bugs. Developing new features costs money, and when the focus shifts to profit, customers can suffer from ignored feature requests. From my perspective, continuous improvement is what makes software truly stand out.
During the sales process, consider asking the following questions:
Regular updates and improvements help future-proof your business as the industry evolves. If the software you’re adopting is already on life-support, it may not meet your needs in the coming years, especially in an industry like pet care that’s undergoing rapid change.
Data Management
It’s essential to ensure that the software company has strong data retention policies. Storing data can be costly, so it’s important to ask how long they keep your information. Contact and pet data should be retained indefinitely, and transaction data should be stored for several years—five years is a good benchmark.
Some providers (not Goose) might charge extra for data storage, so be clear on those policies. For instance, if your CRM exceeds a certain number of contacts, you could face additional fees or be pushed into a more expensive pricing tier.
On a performance level, how data is stored can significantly impact your day to-day operations. If the system needs to keep old transaction data in memory constantly, it could slow down the entire application. Some services, like Goose, automatically archive older data, making it accessible without slowing down the system. Other platforms may require you to contact customer support to archive data, by which point you may have already noticed sluggish performance.
I firmly believe that your data belongs to you, no matter which software provider you choose. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand their data policies. Many people assume they can easily export their data, but it’s worth challenging this assumption during your initial sales conversations.
At a minimum, you should be able to export a CSV file containing all your customer records, pet information, and a reasonable amount of recent transactions. This data portability ensures that you have the flexibility to make future software decisions without feeling locked into a single platform.
At the end of the day, reliable hosting, solid data management, and regular updates are what keep your software (and your business) running like a well oiled machine. These behind-the-scenes details might not seem exciting, but they’re the foundation of a smooth, scalable system. Next, we’ll shift gears and talk about the companies behind the software—how their structure, reputation, and customer feedback can give you a clearer picture of whether they’re the right long-term partner for your business.
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